After 'when you comin' back range rider'
by Liauno
Summary: What happened after they left for the airport
1. Chapter 1

After "When you comin' back range rider"

Chapter 1

Hannibal, BA, Murdock, Face and the beautiful niece of the thug they just put away were on the way to Phoenix airport in Amy's car. It was late afternoon and they were in good spirits. For one of them that changed when they reached the airport.

"You can't mean it."

"I do sucker, sit back down."

Upon reaching the airport BA and Hannibal had given Face an insight of their travel plans from thereon. Much to his dismay it didn't include a plane.

"It will take ages to reach LA."

"Just about six hours drive Face."

"I hate to interrupt but I have a plane to catch. Nice knowing you guys." With that the girl left and Face's mood dropped even more. He opened the door a fraction.

"I'll see you guys in LA."

Before he could get out BA had him by the front of his shirt. "We are going by car, sucker."

"Ah…as I said, nothing better than a long ride in a cabrio."

"See it as team bounding exercise Face. We'll stop somewhere for the night and all share a bed, how does that sound?"

Face hated it when Hannibal directed this smug smile on him. "Just great."

After stopping for some food he got in the back with Murdock. It was already getting dark outside and he didn't feel like sitting in the car at all. Murdock got bored with guessing number plates after thirty minutes and turned to asking Face questions.

"Face, what's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Is that why you put that color on your features so often?" BA chimed in and sniggered but Murdock just went on.

"What music do you like."

"Any."

"Do you like the ocean?"

"Sure." Face had his eyes closed and had not opened them for once while answering Murdock's questions without any interest in the game.

"Do you like animals?"

"Depends."

"Will you marry me?"

"I'm tired."

"That doesn't answer the….hey Face look, what a beauty." Murdock had spotted a helicopter somewhere. "Face you are not looking."

Since he didn't get a response he grabbed Face's left forearm to get his attention.

"Ouch." Face pulled away and cradled his arm close for just a split second before he had control again and quickly moved it back to lay in his lap. Now that his eyes were open and he saw Murdock's look he tried to defuse the situation.

"Where's that beauty you were talking about?"

"What's wrong with your arm?"

"Nothing." That went well. Why did Murdock have to catch on so fast. "You startled me."

"No, you are in pain."

"I'm not. Look, you are bored. Why don't we play 'I can see something and you can't'? I can see something yellow."

"Sure. And I can see a Faceman trying to scam me. Hannibal, Face is hurt."

"I'm not."

"Find us a place with enough light and stop BA." Hannibal had been following the conversation ever since he heard the 'ouch' from Face."

"No, we can go on. This is ridiculous. Nothing is wrong."

"Murdock?"

"I grabbed his forearm and it caused pain it shouldn't have."

"I'm here Hannibal, why don't you ask me instead of Murdock."

"Because I want the truth."

BA had found a filling station and pulled over right under a lamp. Now he too turned to Face who felt uneasy having all eyes on him.

"Your cheeks look red, kid."

"It's hot."

"We are in a cabrio in the night. Try again."

"Maybe he just tries out colors. He was rather green when we were on the horses the first day."

"Murdock's right. I'm a chameleon."

"You have to teach me how to do it."

"Murdock, knock it off. Face, stop stalling."

"Stalling what?"

"Don't play innocent and let's see your arm."

"Why, there is nothing wrong with my arm."

"Then just show it and we'll be on our way."

"Fine." Face started to roll up his right sleeve with lots of drama to show all was well.

"Nice try Face, the other arm, Murdock is sitting to your left."

"Look, can't we just…."

"Move it or I'll have BA rip out the sleeve."

Face knew he had lost and he carefully started to unbutton the sleeve revealing a swollen and red forearm with a white bandage on the underside of the arm.

"What's under the bandage?"

"Just a scratch. Got infected."

"What happened and when?"

"Ah…I got a scratch while in the train with BA."

"I never saw you getting scratched and your arm would not be this infected from something that happened just this afternoon. Spill it man."

In the meantime Hannibal had traded places whit Murdock and was now holding Face's arm in his hand. As soon as he had it his other hand went to Face's forehead.

"Your arm is burning and you run a fever. I want the truth and now, Lieutenant!"

"Ouch, stop." But Hannibal removed the bandage revealing an angry looking wound that wasn't deep but definitely more than just a scratch.

"I'm listening Face."

"Look, he couldn't have known, I mean, it wasn't his fault…"

"Face, I'm getting impatient. What the hell happened."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"He's a good shot and he aimed well, he couldn't have known that my other arm was in the way of the arrow. And it just scratched my skin."

"The kid? Daniel's nephew did this? When?"

"When he pinned my jacked to the tree. I had my left arm up but it was covered by the jacket, he couldn't have known, it's not his fault. Don't tell Daniel."

"And what was your bright plan? Wait till your arm falls off?"

"No, I wanted to go to a clinic as soon as we arrive in LA, if we had flown there I would have seen a doctor by now."

"Don't worry, you'll see a doctor. BA, find us a small town with a clinic and a motel. I have a feeling that we'll spend the night in separate rooms after all. Why in the world didn't you tell any of us? This arrow could have been anywhere before it cut you, from the look of it probably cow dung."

"I had to protect him."

"You are making less sense than the fool, fool."

"What do you think would have happened to him if Daniel had found out? He is lucky to live with his uncle, if he gets sucked from there…"

"What makes you think he is living with Daniel?"

"I didn't see any mother around."

"Only because you didn't see her doesn't mean she isn't there."

"Would you have taken the risk?"

"Face, how is the boy supposed to learn responsibility if he doesn't even know he hit another person?"

"He is responsible and he's a good shot. He aimed well and after all he thought I was one of the bad guys."

"We are getting close to the clinic; get your cover story ready."

"I have one ready don't worry. Face, this topic is not closed yet. BA, you and Murdock go find us a motel and then come back here. Let's go Lieutenant."

Face was feeling too hot. It had been okay as long as the car was moving but now it was becoming unbearable. He got out of the car and had to steady himself for a second before he followed Hannibal into the clinic.

Hannibal had to explain away a rather small but very infected wound in the form off a small trench, about an inch long and obviously caused by something pointed and sharp. He had just the right story in mind. He could have just said it was a boy playing with bow and arrow but he was pissed at Face. Nobody was waiting in the small clinic so he went right to the desk.

"My son Tim here has caught quite an infection and due to stupidity didn't get it treated earlier."

"I'll call for the doctor. What exactly happened and where is he hurt." Face was hanging back close to the door so the nurse talked to Hannibal.

"We went for holidays on a farm, I wanted to show him how I spend my time when I was young. He thought he knows better than his old man and didn't listen to anything I explained. Instead he volunteered to clean out the cow stable. He did so to my surprise. Just now when we were on our way back, a good four days later I might add, did I find out he was hurt. He managed to cut his forearm with the pitchfork he had used to clean out the cow dung, how I don't even know. Kid should listen for once, he just…"

"I hate to interrupt but you may want to make sure your son sits down until the doctor arrives."

Hannibal turned and saw Face swaying dangerously. He had not paid attention to Face and had not expected this. With three quick strides he was at his side.

"Tim, come on, sit down. What's it?"

"Need to go back outside, too hot here." Face was burning hot and his eyes started to look glassy.

Hannibal maneuvered him on a bench and sat down beside him. "My god his temperature is rising too fast, he wasn't that hot in the car. Will the doctor take long?"

The nurse had already gotten up and was pushing a wheelchair towards Face. "He must be here any second, let's get you into the examination room so you can lay flat."

"I'm not going to sit in this, my legs work alright."

"Don't be stubborn kid, that got us here in the first place. Come on, just to the examination room and then you can lay down."

"Han…dad, no, I can walk myself."

"Fine, lead the way."

Face pushed himself off of the bench and needed Hannibal's shoulder to steady himself. How he had gotten worse so fast he didn't know. He made two steps and Hannibal had to grab him around the waist to keep him from going down. "You know I should just push you down into this wheelchair. Let's go kid."

Together they made the few steps to the examination room followed by the doc who had come into the clinic in time to see Face getting up from the bench.

"What do we have here?"

"Infected wound on the forearm."

The doctor examined Face's wound while he asked Hannibal to repeat what had happened.

"I have to first clean out the wound, I'll give you a local anesthetic to make it bearable."

"No no no, just do it, I can stand it, please." Face was a soldier, a green beret, an ex POW…and so very afraid of needles.

"I can't clean out an infection like this without a local, no chance am I going to do that to another human being. Are you allergic?"

"No, but please…"

"He's afraid of needles, and he reacts badly to all painkillers and sedatives."

"Reacts badly in what way?"

"Doesn't sit well with his stomach, affects his circulation and get's his system out of whack."

"All those things will also happen if he has to go through the pain, plus he will have to go through the pain. I'll not work on this wound without a local."

"No, please don't."

"Kid, just fix your eyes on me and hold your arm still."

"No, no, please."

Hannibal used his body to keep Face on the table and held his hurt arm in both hands. "Make it fast doc."

Face did his best to stay calm but was trembling anyway by the time the doc finished. "Okay, now let's get this cleaned to see what we are dealing with." The doctor got to work prodded and cleaned and frowned and prodded some more.

"Mr, Smith, I now have to bandage him and work on starting some fluids and antibiotics. You can join my nurse to do the paper works."

Hannibal didn't like it but didn't also want to start trouble so he went. As soon as the door closed the doc sat down on the table and stopped working."Now that your dad is gone, what really happened?"

"He told you. That's what happened."

"Okay, then tell me how you managed to cut your own forearm with a pitchfork."

"I…I…I was holding it the wrong way round, city kid." He tried an apologetic smile but it didn't really work.

"Okay, what material was the fork made off?"

"Metal, which kind I don't know."

"Okay, then why is it I removed some very small but deeply imbedded splinters of wood?"

"I tried to stop the bleeding with some, ahhh, firewood that was laying around." He tried but the fever was making it hard to think and find better answers.

"Sure. Try again." He could see the wheels turning and finally continued speaking since Face had not come up with another creative idea. "Look, I think your father has something doing with that. You either tell me the real story or I call the police to investigate. I mean, you are a bit old to be brought here by your father who in addition does all the talking for you. I think your father did this and tried to cover it up but it got too infected, right?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"No, totally wrong. I'll tell you but you have to promise not to tell my dad. He's just very protective."

"Okay"

"We went to this farm and the people there are relatives of my father, I don't know them much. There`s this small boy, my cousin, he was shooting with bow and arrow…" Face told what had happened ending with "Please don't tell him. He already got mad at him for shooting at my jacket, if he finds out he hit me he will forbid him to ever shoot again and the boy is really talented. It wasn't his fault, he's a good shot, and it's his hobby, I don't want my father to take it away from him. My elder brother was also mad at him for aiming at people and lectured him while he really aimed at my jacked and not me, please don't tell him."

"Okay okay, don't get all worked up. I won't give your cousin away. But you young man need medicine. I'll set up an IV line to give you fluids and antibiotics and something for the fever and then you'll be my guest for the night."

"Not necessary, I'll drink the fluids."

"And you'll also drink the antibiotics?"

"Sure, whatever you want?"

The doc laughed and got up from the bed. "You are one of a kind. Tell me about this fear of needles."

Face shuddered at the word alone. "Seeing what went down before I guess we need your dad to get the line started, what do you say?"

Face meekly nodded. He knew he needed the meds but he also knew he would never be able to hold still for the doc on his own, not until he was too sick to move his arm away.

Hannibal was called back inside and soon the IV line was set.

"You might want to wrap the port."

"Why?"

"They have a tendency to jump out of my son's arm."

"Okay, I understand." The doc chuckled and set to wrap the port into a thick bandage.

"Now what doc?"

"I'll keep your son here overnight. His temperature is still climbing some and you told me he reacts badly to the meds. Tomorrow morning we decide if he's well enough to leave. Just leave your number with the nurse in case something unexpected happens, or we need to inject him again."

"If you wouldn't mind I would like to stay. Ever since his mother died he's prone to nightmares, especially when sick."

"Fine with me. Come on Tim, let's get you to a room with a proper bed, guess you wouldn't want to sleep on the table all night. You are lucky, we have only three rooms and one got free just today."

They made it over to the next door. Face was a bit more stable on his legs after laying down for a while but still needed a little support.

I'll be in my private room if you need me. Good night, I'll come to check on you from time to time." With that he left and Hannibal pulled two chairs together to get as comfortable as it gets.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble."

"And I'm sorry that you still don't trust us. Sleep now, we'll talk about this when you are better."

Face turned his eyes to Hannibal who didn't look back at him. "Hannibal I…"

Hannibal still didn't look at him but cut him short. "I said sleep."

'Great, I only tried to protect the kid and now he's pissed. Why couldn't we use the plane, nobody would ever have known. In addition he has to babysit me for nightmares and has to sleep in a plastic chair, just great. Anyway, the way this got worse I would probably have passed out in the plane and we would all be in prison now after they checked out who caused such a commotion in the sky.'

Face closed his eyes over his musings and was soon fast asleep. He didn't also wake up when thirty minutes later Murdock arrived, escorted by the nurse.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you."

"Murdock, that's my elder son, thank you for showing him the way."

Murdock closed the door and quietly padded over to the bed. "How is he?"

"Quite bad off, he seemed okay in the car but got worse so fast, looks like the wind was cooling him. He couldn't even walk into the examination room on his own after waiting for just some minutes. He's had a local and is on antibiotics. He'll be worse off tomorrow for sure."

"We got two motel rooms booked. Want me to release you?"

"No, you go get some sleep, I'll stay here. I have a feeling we will spend a few days here. Why he always does those things is beyond me. He should know better."

"Don't be so hard on him, he was just trying to protect the kid."

"Yeah, and didn't trust us enough to still protect the boy. If this wound had been cleaned properly right from the start it would not have caused any trouble."

"The Faceman is lucky he's out of it, wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of your mood right now."

"Well, he won't sleep forever."

Murdock chuckled. "I'll be on my way, call if you need any of us."

"Good night Captain."

Back in the motel Murdock informed BA. "Good thing we got two rooms then."

"Big guy you are hurting me, don't you want to bunk in with your old buddy?"

"Fool, I don't want to bunk in with a pucking Face and a cranky Hannibal."

"They are in the clinic if you haven't noticed." Murdock was a bit confused.

"This is the Faceman we are talking about. He'll be here by tomorrow for sure. He'll con his way out of the clinic and then collapse at the first safe opportunity."

Murdock laughed and even BA sniggered. "Remember how he conned his way out of the infirmary in Nam?"

"Which of them?"

"When he was shot through the arm and bleeding like a stabbed pig."

"Oh yeah, that was quite something." Both men laughed at the memory and got a bed ready for Face to collapse on the next day.

_The unit had been on a mission to destroy some enemy ammo quarters. Five of the twenty men they went with returned wounded but at least they all returned alive. A lot of other units also went in the same day and had to suffer more wounded and casualties. Since they all used the same rendezvous point, the only one in the hilly area, they got into a chopper until it was full to lift off with no regard to which chopper came for which unit. There was no time to sort that out since the enemy was close by. They were not under heavy fire but it was there alright. Face had taken a bullet through the upper arm when the team was ambushed by a patrol on their way to the rendezvous point. Since the patrol was small and the rest of the team found cover after they had given their location away with the shot at Face, they easily took them out._

_"Lieutenant?"_

_"It's okay."_

_"Okay, you are bleeding out." Ray pointed out the obvious._

_"We need to get to the chopper."_

_"We have enough time to keep some of the red stuff inside you. Sit down."_

_Hannibal split the unit further. Four men were send ahead to the rendezvous point, six had already been sent out with the other four wounded before the mission was complete. The remaining four waited for Ray to bandage Face's arm as good as he could and then they set out again. After a few minutes however Face started to stumble. Hannibal who was behind him stopped Face._

_"Damn, it's still bleeding, your whole jacket is soaked. Ray, come over here, we need to stop the bleeding."_

_They took out fresh bandages and used face's soaked jacked to put more pressure on the wound. It worked some but they anyway had to support him on the last meters to the landing zone._

_It was also the last chopper waiting, or rather just coming down enough to allow boarding and the unit of now six men pilled in. The others had inform the pilots that six more were on their way and had then already gone with the second last chopper that still had some space. As soon as they were in the chopper it lifted off and the pilot gave his best howl. As soon as the chopper was somewhat stable and out of the reach of the VC riffles shooting at it the peter pilot came to the back._

_"Aaron? Since when are you a peter pilot?"_

_"Since Murdock here insisted on waiting for you guys even though the fire down here got thicker. His original peter pilot declared that the pilot was insane and left with the last chopper. Couldn't leave old Murdock alone out here."_

_"What took you guys so long? We had to lift off and come back several times, Aaron did a good job as a door gunner too." Came Murdock's shouted voice from the front._

_"Face decided to spring a leak, good think your first profession is doctor."_

_Aaron was already working on Face's arm. The bleeding had slowed and with some pressure bandages he got it stopped altogether but Face had lost a lot of blood and needed refueling. Aaron brought out a bag of liquids and started an IV line. Since there was no one else hurt he then set out to clean the blood from Face's side and arm. By the time they landed two bags of liquids had gone into him and he was more stable on his feet and not as dizzy as before. Due to the cleaning and his no more existent soaked shirt and jacked he didn't look bad off at all. Aaron accompanied him to the field hospital where the nurses were more than happy to see one more doctor. _

_"Hurry, we need you here."_

_Face was given a fast look and pushed down on a sandbag outside the hospital._

_"You have to wait, we first have to patch up those with bigger holes."_

_By the time Hannibal came to check on him he was still sitting outside._

_"How is it?"_

_"Okay, guess it will be my turn soon. Can't wait."_

_"Cheer up lieutenant. A little R&R in the infirmary is not too bad, or? I'll see you later, just finished debriefing, can't wait to crash somewhere like the rest of the unit has done."_

_"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." Face yawned but only saw Hannibal's retreating back. As soon as Hannibal was out of sight he continued with his task, using the mud behind the sand bags to cover the blood that had soaked into his pants and then drying the now dirty pants in the sun so that the mud stains looked old._

_Finally, after almost three hours, a nurse came to get Face. The rest had done him some good and his willpower to not show how bad he felt did the rest. He got up and followed her without a flinch, not that it would have mattered, nobody had the time to look at him anyway. Not even the doctor coming into the room with his nose somewhere in a file. He was wearing a fresh surgical mask and fresh rubber gloves but the rest of his clothes were covered with splatters of blood from his previous patients._

_"What do we have now, someone who might survive I hope."_

_Face beat the nurse to the answer. "Yeah I strongly plan on doing so, at least for today."_

_Now the doctor did look up. "Oh, wow, you startled me. You are the first one today who is able to talk, and sit up."_

_"I can shut up if you prefer."_

_"No, no, it's good to see something else than torn apart and bleeding out men. It was terrible today." _

_"Yeah, just a scratch here but my Co insisted I come here." Face said while the nurse unwrapped the wound. Sure enough it started bleeding again after the pressure wrapping was gone._

_"Wow, that's quite a hole. Put him under as long as there's some blood inside"_

_"No wait, just stitch it up, I'm ready. I ah…I have classified information. You can't put me under unless my CO is around." At that time Face's trouble with anesthetics wasn't as bad as now, bad enough to get his circulation out of whack but at least his stomach could stand it. But he hated hospitals and anything that came close to it and had no intention of hanging around. Besides there was his fear of needles that only counted for needles with a container attached to it. He had no problem getting pierced by the needle but had a panic of something being inserted into him. _

_"You? Sure?"_

_"Sure."_

_"How much blood did you loose."_

_"Not much at all, I was lucky. It was just a patrol of two men that got me and my friends took them both out within seconds. Also the next man behind me was a medic, I was bleeding for less than thirty seconds."_

_"Where's your shirt?"_

_"I was feeling hot when I waited outside in the sun, gave it to one of my mates to take it back to my quarters."_

_"Well, It's your arm and your health, you know that the local has far more side effects, right? Will you at least lay down?"_

_"Sure." _

_The doctor shock his head disbelievingly but then shrugged and started to clean and stitch up the wound. Soon he was done and Face started to get up._

_"Wow, take it slow, stay down for a bit before you collapse." He turned to the nurse. "Go get the next, I'll clean up, by then he should be fine to go."_

_Both left the room and Face wasted no time to get up before they thought better of it. He made it outside and around the side before leaning against the wall and trying to get rid of the dizziness. When he felt he was strong enough to walk over to the team's quarters without collapsing on his way he made his move. As it turned out his calculation had been a bit optimistic. The edges of his vision started to swim when he was still some steps away but there were too many people around to stop and still keep some dignity. He made it over and stepped into the tent but stopped tight there grabbing a tent pole._

_"Face what are you doing here?" Hannibal had woken up when Face entered and the rest of the team also slowly turned to look at him._

_"Wasn't too bad, I…I was….released…to rest..ah..here." It was getting difficult to concentrate and he was not able to make out clear shapes again._

_Hannibal saw the signs, got up from his bunk but was just fast enough to prevent Face from hitting the floor. Face was out cold and Hannibal was fuming._

_"How can they send him here alone, how irresponsible is that? If they don't have space they could at least call one of us to get him. Besides he lost so much blood, they have to keep monitoring him, damn." Hannibal was still ranting on while, with Ray's help, already carrying Face back to the infirmary. Upon entering they run into one very tired Aaron._

_"Can you tell me why my lieutenant is being sent to his quarters on his own."_

_"My god, Face, put him on the table, what happened?"_

_"I don't know. I thought we get some answers here."_

_Hearing the commotion the doctor who had released Face not long ago came to join the group. "What's going…damn, I treated him." He pushed the others out of the way and started to take Face's vitals. "I don't understand this."_

_Aaron jumped in. "Why did you release him, I know we are short of space but for someone who lost so much blood…"_

_"He told me he hadn't and there was no blood on him…damn I should have checked closer."_

_Slowly they got the story together. Face woke up almost 24 hours later. First he noticed the smell of hospital and the pounding headache. Then he noticed the IV line and then his teammates, most of all his pissed looking CO._

_"Hi guys."_

_"Lieutenant."_

_"Hi Face, nice of you to wake up. We just came to see if the smoke has stopped coming out of Hannibal's ears. You are in deep buddy."_

_The arriving nurse, that didn't know the direct history of her patient, saved Face from Hannibal's lecture, but not for long. "Hi there, just checking your vitals. You are lucky that you came in today. Yesterday the place was so full those who were not too bad off were released into their units care where possible. You would never have gotten the full attention you deserve."_

_Face groaned and the rest laughed. Even Hannibal had to smile at the irony._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Face slept for some hours before he started to mumble and shift in his sleep. Eventually it woke Hannibal and he tried to calm Face without waking him. Calming him worked but he did wake up. When he opened his eyes and looked at Hannibal the Colonel felt odd, something was different. Face used to have a haunted look after a nightmare but this time something was odd. Hannibal couldn't put his finger on it before the moment passed.

"You alright kid?"

"Yeah."

"Your arm?"

"It's okay."

"Sleep, you need your rest. You know that when those antibiotics really kick in you won't get much rest again." Hannibal settled back in his chair and Face closed his eyes. He vowed not to sleep again that night. The dream was still too fresh in his mind and he was afraid he would keep dreaming if he slept. The picture, or rather little film, didn't want to vanish and kept playing. "One more time and you are off the team Lieutenant." It was words spoken with venom and the conclusion of a long lecture he would never forget.

So Face pretended to sleep but was actually awake. The doc came to check about every other hour if his feeling for time was right. Hannibal tried to get comfortable on his chair but couldn't sleep much from how it seemed. Face kept himself awake but it wasn't easy to do so while trying to feign sleep. Finally he was too tired to keep it up and fell asleep again. By then he was so tired that he slept deep without any more dreams.

The next morning Face woke very early and wished he could sleep again. His head pounded and he felt sick but he knew he had to pull it together if he wanted out of there, and out he wanted by all means.

Hannibal woke shortly after him and seeing that Face was up he didn't try to sleep more on his chair. He got up stiffly and stretched. "How are you feeling kid."

Face lit up a smile, or at least he hoped it was one. "Far better than yesterday. I hope the doc will come soon to release me."

"Sure." 'You sure hope he comes soon, as long as you can pull it together.' He mentally added.

They didn't have to wait long until the doc appeared."Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Good, far better than yesterday. The pain is almost gone."

"Good, how's the meds sitting with you?"

"For once okay, I feel good and my stomach is also not rebelling. Can I leave now?"

"Let my check your arm and your vitals." He did and was okay with the results. The fever was down, the wound looked good and the patient seemed okay considering how he was a day before. "I think I can release you. I'll take your father away from you for the paper works and you'll have some breakfast in the mean time. Nurse, some bread, banana and tea for this patient. I want to see at least the tea gone before you leave."

"Okay, thanks."

As soon as the door closed behind them all Face ripped the bread in two, got up and stuffed the other half and the banana in the bag Murdock had brought back for him and poured the tea into the toilet. He then got dressed as fast as his pounding skull and the dizziness allowed and then sat in the chair that was formerly occupied by Hannibal. The plan was to sit there for a while and get the dizziness under control to be able to keep up the act when the others returned. To his relieve they took longer than expected and by the time the door opened he was feeling quite okay.

"All done. You sure you are okay with the meds?"

"Sure."

"I equipped your father with more meds. Make sure you finish all the antibiotics."

"I will."

"You did well with the breakfast."

"Couldn't finish all the bread. The tea felt good, thanks."

"Okay, you can get on your way now. Make sure you bring him back should he get worse again."

"Sure doc, thanks for everything. Come on Tim."

Face got up under the watchful eyes of the doctor and followed Hannibal into the waiting area. He did his best to appear stable on his feet.

"Sit down, I'll go and call Murdock to get us."

Hannibal walked around the corner to the payphone and saw the way Face held onto the seat before he sat down. He knew they would not leave the place if they didn't move fast. Should the doc or the nurse see him sway on his feet he would be back in his room for sure. He also saw the car rental opposite the street and made a decision. He waited for just long enough give a believing picture and then returned. He's not picking. Let's rent a car from over there. Come on there's a bench outside, the fresh air will do you good."

Face got up and Hannibal made sure to walk behind him so he would block the view of the nurse that had returned. With a last good bye they were out the door.

"Sit down, I'll go get us a car."

Face was grateful to sit again. He was sure he could not have made it to the other side of the street. He was also grateful that Hannibal continued walking and did not see him leaning against the wall before sitting down on the bench.

In less than five minutes Hannibal was back with a car. The fresh air had actually done Face some good and he was able to get into the car while keeping up the act. Once the car was moving that got more difficult. He was really glad about the decision not to take in anything. His stomach was rolling as it was and he was sure Hannibal would turn around if he puked in the car. He was sure he was white like a ghost by the time the car stopped in front of the motel but tried a smile anyway.

"You can stop acting now. Sit here for a while. I'll get our things inside and then come for you."

If possible Face turned even whiter and his eyes widened, the smile was gone.

"Oh come on, I know you for how long now? You have never been able to con me when you are real sick. " 'granted you did a good job until yesterday but that is classified information.' Hannibal got out of the car and left a stunned Face behind. The colonel was still pissed and it showed.

Face just sat there. Funnily knowing that he didn't have to act any longer made it sheer impossible to do so. He could have gotten out of the car and walk inside moments ago but now couldn't find the energy to do so. Instead of Hannibal BA and Murdock appeared some minutes later.

"Hi Face, wanna come inside? You need a hand?"

Hannibal had probably told them already so there was no need in acting, but he still had some pride left. "I can manage."

He pushed himself out of the car where Murdock steadied him until he had his balance. He attempted a few swaying steps on his own but Murdock simply put an arm around his waist and they went in together. Murdock steered him towards the bed but Face changed the route, he was no longer able to battle his stomach. Murdock stayed back to give some dignity and helped him on the bed when he was done. Face was shivering and clearly miserable. As Murdock pulled a blanket around his shoulders Hannibal came in.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So you finally lost your breakfast, you held out quite long for your standards."

"Probably because there was nothing inside to come out, from how it looked like at least."

"Face? I hope you hid the food where the doc will not find it."

"In my bag."

"That explains that. You had me believing you took something to keep your energy until you can collapse. We need to get fluids into you or you'll get so much worse."

"I don't think I can drink anything now."

"I didn't talk of drinking. Why do you think I talked the doc into leaving the port in your arm."

Face had all but forgotten about it. Just now that Hannibal talked about it did he realize the thick bandage around his arm that covered the port. In all his concentration to stay upright it hadn't appeared to him that it should have been removed.

"I told him you'll develop stomach troubles and can't keep the antibiotics down, he gave me the injectable version and I'm sure we have some bags of fluids in the van."

"Sure have." BA went to get them.

"Get some rest kid, we'll talk later." With that he settled down to watch over Face, for Face it felt as if he was waiting for his prey to get well enough to endure a lecture.

Said lecture sure came two days later when Face was over the worst side effects of the antibiotics and able to follow the monologue. It went along the lines of 'you are irresponsible, could have blown the whole mission, could have endangered yourself and others by not functioning in the right moments' and so on. Hannibal was fuming and having to wait for Face to be able to listen and understand had not cooled him down at all. When he was done Hannibal got up and went outside without waiting for an answer.

Murdock who had listened in with BA from the adjoining motel room came inside. "Don't worry, he'll cool down again."

"Yeah, in about ten years. Ten years of obstacle courses for me."

"Maybe his words were a bit harsh but one thing I also don't get. Why didn't you clean the wound, you know how easy you catch infection in wounds and how bad of you are when you have to take meds. Why not prevent it?"

"Because it wasn't so simple. We drowned our first aid kit with the van."

"There is a first aid kit in Amy's car."

"I know, that's where I got the bandages. But it had no iodide or peroxide or something."

BA who was hanging back at the door connecting the two rooms got thoughtful. "So you asked Amy for her car keys but you couldn't tell us you was hurt?"

"I didn't ask her. I tried to steal them but Amy always had her car keys on her and I couldn't get close enough without the risk of getting caught. I picked the lock."

Murdock rolled his eyes. "But why didn't you just talk to one of us? Why did you hide your injury?"

Hannibal who had just come back inside took a chair. "That I would also be interested in."

"I told you. I couldn't risk for the boy to lose his home."

"What's wrong with you Face, why in the world do you think someone could get sucked from his home, his family, over accidentally hurting someone?"

Face couldn't look at Hannibal. His hands were playing with the blanket covering him. In a very quiet voice he said "because you almost did."

The room was dead silent for a minute.

"Care to elaborate?"

"When I shot that guy in the arm."

Hannibal jumped up. Enough was enough. "Don't you remind me on that. That was a totally different situation and you managed to hang on to the team by a very thin thread. You better don't get me to think twice, I may still kick you off. You are a trained soldier intentionally shooting at someone, this was a boy hitting you by accident"

"But I didn't…"

"Didn't what? You want to tell me you aimed somewhere else? You are too good a shot to even try to tell me that bullshit."

"No, I aimed, I…I… I didn't want to shoot him…"

"You aimed at him but didn't want to shoot him? You had smarter lies before, you better…"

"I thought I was shooting at the VC aiming at me." It was just a whisper but enough to stop Hannibal's rant for a moment. But just until the next outburst.

"You are going too far with your lies, you better stop before I kick you off the team for sure." With that Hannibal turned around and slammed the door behind him.

"What the hell were you two talking about?" Murdock was puzzled.

"Damn, now it makes sense."

"Hello? Someone care to tell me what's going on? I lost touch some five minutes ago."

"You lost touch some years ago fool."

Face was almost transparent by then. BA went closer to the bed he was laying on. "You flashed back when you shot at the guy, did you?"

Face nodded but didn't look at anybody.

"Whom did you shoot at?"

Face didn't look like he would talk anytime soon so BA started. "It was just after the war, one of our first missions. You were locked up for good then, long before you were able to rejoin us. We had to take down some thugs that harassed a couple of shop owners. We already had been following them for about a week and finally had them cornered. It was a tough fight and after about ten minutes one of them started moving into Face's direction. Face who had been shooting at their feet so far pulled his gun up, aimed and shot the guy in the upper arm, effectively disabling him for the moment. Hannibal was beyond mad. Face had broken the pact by shooting the guy, he hurt him while it wasn't necessary, we could have taken him out without anybody getting hurt. And it wasn't the first time something like that had happened. About two months earlier he had shot someone in the leg but the first time it could have been an accident, the second time we watched it happening, Face aimed and fired, intend in hurting the guy. Hannibal was so close to throwing him off, pushed him through obstacle course after obstacle course and when we finally took the next mission Face was not allowed to carry a gun, I think he didn't allow him a gun for nearly a year until Face almost got killed because he wasn't able to defend himself. Hannibal's anger slowly ebbed away but it kept lingering under the surface, he was weary for years to come and from the way he just reacted you can see he hasn't forgotten. But Face, now it makes sense. Why did you never tell us you flashed back? It would have saved you so much trouble."

"Are you crazy, if I had told him I have flashbacks in bright daylight and during missions I would have been off the team for sure. Nobody needs such a liability. I couldn't have told you or Hannibal."

"What about we could have helped you?"

"What about you would have locked me away like Murdock?"

"Because of some flashbacks? Not likely. We shoulda known anyway."

"Why?"

"Because we witnessed you flashing back. We all had it at times, mainly at night."

"Yeah but I had it while I was supposed to function."

"When did it stop?"

"Never really, but it reduced and until I was allowed to carry a gun again I had managed to control myself more and differentiate between fact and fiction." Face yawned, the lecture had made him tired. The drugs still had a good hold on him and sapped his energy.

"You a fool you know, for going through all the trouble on your own instead of letting us in, and you still do it. Get some rest." BA waited until Face had closed his eyes and then left the room in search of Hannibal.

Said Hannibal had gone to the end of the parking space in front of the motel and was sitting on a large stone with his back to the motel facing the street. He was partially covered by a few trees that grew between the motel and the street.

"Hey Hannibal don't you think you are being a little hard on Face? You know how he gets when kids are involved and he didn't put any of us in danger."

Hannibal shot up and spun around. "Too hard? How many times have I told him to inform one of us when he's hurt. He can't listen if his live depended on it."

BA saw the anger in Hannibal's eyes and couldn't remember to have seen him that mad ever. "Calm down man, you shoulda been used to this by now, what's wrong?"

"I'll never get used to him lying to us. He's a damn liability and you know it."

Hannibal was going too far, this was one of BA's team members, no, scratch that, family members. He too raised his voice. "Face ain't lying to us, he just doesn't tell us everything, he manages on his own."

"Yeah, he might just have to do that from now on."

"What do you mean, you wanna suck him? Then count me out too."

"Should have sucked him long ago. Goes around shooting at people, god knows how often he has hit people when we were not around. And now he defends that boy, just because he sees himself in him."

"Faceman ain't shooting at people, and he sees himself in that boy, but not for the shooting and ain't nothing wrong with that."

"He shot that guy in the arm, there was no need to and there's no excuse."

"There is a good excuse man, he just told you he was seeing VC."

"Sure, right here in America, damn likely, he's just looking for excuses."

"Don't you get it? He flashed back man."  
"He never flashed back when he wasn't asleep or feverish and if he had, he would have told us all those years ago."

"He was afraid you would suck him."

"He should be, I'm so close and I haven't made my mind yet. Damn cheat and liar."

That was too much to hear. BA pushed Hannibal and Hannibal pushed back and before they knew it they were fighting with more than words.

Inside the room they couldn't understand the words but hear the raised voices. "Damn, they are drawing attention. Do you feel up to wiping some fingerprints Face, guess we should be going." Murdock didn't even wait for an answer but started throwing the toiletries in the bag, the only thing that had been unpacked. He knew Face would start wiping their prints without looking back, they were too good a team to need a lot of words.

Within two minutes they were done. Face had hastily put on some sweatpants and then wiped the few places they had touched, they were well trained. Murdock had done the bathroom. Now they were putting the bags in the van.

"Sit inside, I'll get our two hotheads."

Murdock pushed himself between Hannibal and BA who were pushing themselves and shouting at each other.

"Hey hey, stop it, you are drawing attention."

"Get outa my way fool, no one talks like that about BA Baracus family."

"BA, we gotta go before the cops are here, I don't think Face is up to a car chase, at least not with the contents of his stomach inside him."

That got BA's attention.

"We are all packed, lead the way."

Hannibal snarled and muttered something under his breath but moved towards the van anyway. Sure enough they met a police car coming their way when they had just rounded the first corner.

"Step on it big guy, they might just turn around when whoever called them gives them a description of the van."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

BA made sure he used only small roads and went left and right all over the map. That did nothing to Face's stomach but seeing the deep scowl on BA's face that matched Hannibal's and the fact that none of them had spoken he decided to not speak up. Murdock had other planes though.

"BA, better find us a place to stop soon, Face looks a bit green already."

"Want me to stop now Face?"

"No, keep going, I'm alright."

"We'll go back to LA."

"Colonel, that's five hours drive from here, Face is not well enough. It will be a setback."

"Face is well enough to talk for himself Captain."

Face heard the ice in Hannibal's voice and wondered what the hell they had been fighting about. By all means he was sure he didn't want Hannibal's mood directed on him right now. This was screaming obstacle course for anyone who caused trouble.

"Lieutenant!" Hannibal's voice boomed through the van but he didn't turn around.

"Uhm..yes Colonel, I…ah…I am. I can make it to LA, no problem."

"Face, this is not necessary, you are still too weak."

"You heard the Lieutenant Captain. After just enduring a lecture about how wrong it was to hide his injury I don't think he will lie about his health right now, don't you think?"

'Uh oh.' There was still ice in that voice and Face decided it best to hide in his seat right behind Hannibal where he couldn't be seen.

BA kept driving but glanced at Face from time to time who seemed to get greener by the minute. He held his own though. Murdock too was watching him closely.

Face wished he could disappear. The bends on the road were hell on him and they were many. He started to sweat after just some twenty minutes. When the bile rose he started to put his chin to the chest and control his breathing but it didn't help. BA watched and was already looking for a good place to stop. Murdock was out of his seat and at Face's side trying to give support. By the time he clutched his stomach BA had found a good place to get off the road and behind some trees where the van was out of view. Murdock opened the door and Face just had time to fall out of the door on all fours before the retching started. BA came to the other side to be there in case support was needed but kept his distance to give some privacy. Hannibal on the other hand got out of the car, snarled "so much for being able to go to LA" in Face's direction and then moved a good distance away to light a cigar.

When Face was done he was drenched in sweat. Murdock helped him to maneuver away a bit and leaned him against the side of the car to rest. As soon as BA saw he wasn't needed he advanced on Hannibal. "What do you think you are doing talking to him like this, the man is sick."

Hannibal spun around. "The man just declared he was well enough to make it to LA. He's a liar and a cheat and he'll never change, he's nothing but a liability. Look at him. He looks pathetic but given a chance he'll go around shooting at people and then lying he didn't want to."

"You better stop, he ain't hurting no one and you know it."

"Oh no, here they go again." Murdock patted Face on the shoulder and went after the two to break them up.

"Do I? Can I trust him? Do you trust him?"

"Sure I do and you do too. He had fucking flashbacks man, ain't his fault."

"Can you two quit it?"

"He had no flashbacks, that's just his latest excuse and that makes me even madder. After all this time he can't admit he did the wrong thing."

"I said quit it you two." Murdock was ignored.

"Cause he didn't do nothing wrong, it was by accident."

"Accident my ass, he shot him on purpose."

"Face would never do that."

"You were not there, stay out of this."

"But you were there, you did witness his flashbacks."

"What are you talking about, he never had flashbacks when he was in his right mind, only during nightmares or when he was sick."

"No he had them and when he wasn't asleep or sick."

"No. And I'm really so close to kicking him off after lying again. He still hasn't seen reason, he still can't accept he did the wrong thing. I don't need such people on my team."

"Yeah? Your team? If you kick him off I'm off too."

"Mee too."

"Fine."

"Yeah, fine. If you would listen to yourself Hannibal. Who held him through his flashbacks in prison, eh? Was he asleep then? Huh? Or sick?"

"What are you…" Suddenly Hannibal stopped dead.

"Yeah man, you held him through flashbacks after the guards had attacked him, time and time again. And that time he wasn't asleep and he wasn't feverish."

"You mean…"

"Damn well I mean, you think it all stopped just 'cause we were out of prison? We all had our troubles and it was real bad in the beginning."

"But why didn't he…"

"Cause he was afraid you would lock him away like they did to Murdock."

"But, oh no." He turned around. "Face, is that true?"

But Face was looking at the trio with big eyes instead of giving an answer.

"Face?"

Murdock was first to reach him. "He's hot again. Face, say something buddy."

Face was looking straight at his friends, eyes big like saucers and mouth open. Murdock positioned himself right in front of Face so that they were eye to eye.

"Earth to Face, someone in there?"

"You fought."

"Actually those two fought."

"You fought."

"You said that already buddy."

"You fought….because of me. You…you and BA and Hannibal…you…you…" Face stopped talking, he was totally amazed.

"Face, focus on me. We what?"

Face blinked and then looked right at Murdock and then at BA. "Did you mean it? Would you really stick to me to the extend to leave the team?"

"Sure would."

Face tried to focus on BA but he got blurry. He blinked again but then his light went out and he slumped to the side. Murdock and BA went forward to help Face but Hannibal remained frozen in place. He tried to analyze his feelings but couldn't really get to the point of it. He had been so mad at Face when he shot the guy in the arm and now that Face had mentioned the incident again it had all come back. But why had he been so mad? He tried to remember the day. They had been on top of the bad guys, guns at the ready but not shooting. Face was standing in the open facing one of the bad guys that had not surrendered yet, Hannibal and BA were standing to either side of him but more in front, guarding the two that had surrendered just then. The man moved towards Face talking and insulting but not really posing a thread at that moment. Hannibal was just about to move towards the guy to talk him into giving up like his two mates had done when Face shot. After that it got hectic. BA was tying up the two goons while Hannibal bandaged the wounded one and made sure not only the police but ambulance too was called before they left in their car. Only when they were a safe distance away did he start to question Face.

'Why the hell did you shoot? We agreed to never again spill blood when it can be avoided and this could be avoided.' When Face didn't say anything at all Hannibal turned around to face him. Face fidgeted around but then schooled his features and answered 'I was trained to shoot people.'

That got Hannibal so mad. At first he tried lectures and tried Face to get to see reason but he always got the same answer. He now realized that he may have made a mistake all those years back. He had accessed the words spoken but not the actions done. Now he closed his eyes and tried to remember the pictures. What had happened? He and BA had been busy but Face had not moved from his spot until he was prompted to get into the car. He had been holding the gun up after shooting the guy as if waiting for more danger that needed to be fought but somewhere in between had lowered it. Hannibal clearly remembered that he had been holding the gun down and away from him when he had called out for Face to get a move on and get into the car. He also remembered that when he turned around in the car Face was all sweaty. His eyes popped open. Why had he not seen it earlier. Face was no rooky, as he said he was trained to shoot people and he had done it a thousand times over. He was one of the best snipers in Nam and he never broke out into a sweat when shooting at someone. He didn't also freeze and keep standing at one point. The kid had had a damn flashback and had deflected him all those years. He knew exactly that his indifference would make Hannibal mad and keep him from really thinking the situation over. Damn stupid and at the same time clever kid. And now this big eyes full of amazement. He had something childlike about himself at times. So amazed that his teammates fought for him, that someone considered him worth the effort. Hannibal had thought they had made good progress with getting Face to open up and having some real self esteem, not just the type he pretended to have all day. He had to admit that in reality nothing much had changed and probably never would. Face had just become better in pretending.

Hannibal had been so deep in thought that he hadn't seen BA and Murdock move Face back into the van. They had buckled him into his usual seat that was equipped with a harness to buckle in an unconscious or sick team member, Face had always bickered about why it had been installed to his seat but truth was that it hardly was used on anybody else. Hannibal sighed and got into his own seat.

"Let's find another motel and get this kid to rest."

Murdock and BA saw the change in Hannibal and didn't say a word.

They drove on in silence for another twenty minutes until they had found a good motel. Good meant it was hidden from view but at the same time had a lot of exit opportunities. It didn't have adjoined rooms like the other motel so they booked a room that could occupy all four of them.

Face woke when he was being transferred from the van to the bed and instantly curled together clutching his stomach. Hannibal sat on the bed beside him stroking his back. "Relax, take some deep breaths, come on, the cramps will let up when you relax." It took a while but gradually the cramps lessened and Face was able to lay back and relax a little.

"I'm sorry kid."

"For what?"

"For thinking bad about you for all these years. I didn't know you had flashbacks."

Panic flickered in the Lieutenants face. "Hannibal I…I ..it got much better, I don't have them again, not in bright daylight…I…I can do my job, really I can…I…"

"Hey, hey, slow down, where's the fire? I know you can do your job."

"You…you know? You are not mad about the flashbacks?"

"No I'm not and you should have said something that time."

"Yeah sure and you would have gotten me locked up right next to Murdock."

"Face, we didn't get Murdock locked up."

"We didn't also bail him out." In earlier years there was always a lot of discussion between Hannibal and Face. Face wanted to spring Murdock and keep him with the team permanently while Hannibal had argued Murdock needed professional help.

"No we didn't, but Murdock had more problems. If a flashback here and there had been his only problem you can be sure I would have taken him out of the VA in a flash."

"You would?"

"Sure."

"Buddy believe me, even I had locked myself up for good those days. And even now I need the doc at times, that's why I still live there."

"But…"

"No but kid. I was wrong in thinking you shot the guy on purpose and you were wrong in not telling us about the flashback. I'm very sorry about my harsh words earlier on. And now rest some. Oh and kid, about your amazement earlier on, you matter to this team, get it through your thick skull already."

"I…oh, okay uhm thanks, I think."

"Sleep now."

Face closed his eyes but not for long.

"Uhm guys…you won't tell Daniel, will you?"

"You are still afraid he could send the boy away?"

Face didn't answer but looked from one of them to the other and the look spoke volumes.

"Okay, we won't tell but under one condition."

"Anything."

"Next time you are hurt speak up."

"Uh I…I'll try, okay?"

"Will you ever change? Ah, don't even answer that."

"Face, one more thing before you sleep. You were wearing the same shirt again when we left and I checked, it had no hole in the sleeve." Murdock looked puzzled.

"No this one had no hole."

"But it was the shirt you wore when the arrow hit you."

"No, it was another one. I had brought two of the same type."

"Why?"  
"Because it fit to the rest of the outfit. It happens so often that I get spots or holes in my wardrobe that I always have a matching piece to replace the spoiled one without having to change the complete outfit, after all I have to look good, I'm the Faceman."

Everybody rolled his eyes and Face yawned and closed his.

"Kid, I just found out why I was so mad at you all those years back. I was afraid to lose you if you could not do the job with us."

"Really?"

"Really. And when you are better we'll train you in how to tell your team you are sick or wounded."

"That oughta be fun. A training that will never be successful." BA's giggle filled the room while Face's eyes finally dropped and he fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

THE END


End file.
